You have the choice between sitting in traffic in a base Mercedes S-Class or literally flying over traffic in a personal jetpack…which would you choose? Ok, so the S-Class is a little more practical, but for a mere $86,000 Martin Jetpack has your personal flying craft solution ready.
The jetpack has been in development for almost 30 years and can finally be purchased as the first commercially available jetpack…and you won’t even need a pilot’s license, though you will have to wait about 12 months once you order.
Each component or assembly has been engineered to be light weight, strong and rigid, so the use of composite materials was vital to meet the unique demands of the jetpack. Here’s a list of components that were made using carbon fiber:
- Ducts – along with Aramid
- Fans – along with Aramid
- Main beam
- Spine
- Fuel tank – along with Kevlar
- Undercarriage – along with aluminum alloy
- Engine heads
- Airboxes
Key manufacturing include prepreg, resin infusion (V.I.P), vacuum bagging, and rapid manufacture tooling. Composites manufacturing was done in partnership with New Zealand’s Dynamic Composites.
The jetpack weighs 250 lbs (excluding safety equipment), is 5’x5.5’x5, and uses standard premium gasoline to run. It’s driven by a 2.0 L V4 2 stroke engine with 200hp and two 1.5 ft wide rotors made from carbon fiber and Kevlar. It can go as high as 8,000 feet and can fly for about 30 minutes. What happens if the engine cuts off at 8,000 feet? Luckily the jetpack comes equipped with a ballistic parachute.
Here’s a little video of the jetpack in action:
You can check out Martin Aircraft’s website for more information.
[Source: Tom’s Guide via Gizmag]